Long before Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were shattering records and making national headlines, there was the 2007 Rutgers team. The New Jersey players had a Cinderella season, powering their way to the Final Four in an extraordinary triumph. But instead of being celebrated, the young women were attacked – dismissed and belittled in an infamous on-air slur by the popular radio host Don Imus. In this episode, Susie and Jess revisit the moment which sparked a national firestorm – and a much-needed conversation about racism, sexism and women’s sports. They also welcome two women who were there: former Rutgers captain and WNBA star Essence Carson, and the journalist Jemele Hill, who reported on the story in real time.

GUESTS: 
Essence Carson, former WNBA star, Rutgers captain and current creative executive
Jemele Hill, Emmy award-winning journalist

FOR MORE:
The Imus Fallout: Who Can Say What? (Time, 2007)
Trash Talk Radio (by Gwen Ifill NYT, 2007)
Take A Stand Against Indecency And Cruelty (by Jemele Hill, ESPN) 

Long before Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were shattering records and making national headlines, there was the 2007 Rutgers team. The New Jersey players had a Cinderella season, powering their way to the Final Four in an extraordinary triumph. But instead of being celebrated, the young women were attacked – dismissed and belittled in an infamous on-air slur by the popular radio host Don Imus. In this episode, Susie and Jess revisit the moment which sparked a national firestorm – and a much-needed conversation about racism, sexism and women’s sports. They also welcome two women who were there: former Rutgers captain and WNBA star Essence Carson, and the journalist Jemele Hill, who reported on the story in real time.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Essence Carson, former WNBA star, Rutgers captain and current creative executive</li>
<li>Jemele Hill, Emmy award-winning journalist</li>
</ul>
FOR MORE:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1609807,00.html">The Imus Fallout: Who Can Say What?</a> (Time, 2007)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/opinion/10ifill.html">Trash Talk Radio</a> (by Gwen Ifill NYT, 2007)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070410">Take A Stand Against Indecency And Cruelty</a> (by Jemele Hill, ESPN) </li>
</ul>

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.

Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.
Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett

Rutgers Women’s Basketball & the Racist Radio Host (Pt 1)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/96b69416-d295-40d7-9bab-b14701485416/transcript

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